Holocaust remembered in stories of rescuers

The heading of this article starts with, "Wednesday is Holocaust Remembrance Day when people around the world commemorate the millions who were victims during the Nazi period." The Holocaust was a time of great turmoil. In this article, heroes of this time period are celebrated for the risks they took upon themselves to protect others. This year marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Yad Vashem is a living memorial of those non-Jewish rescuers that come from over 45 countries, there are more than 22,000 people recognized. A Swiss police commander by the name of Paul Gruninger helped more than 3,000 Austrian Jews escape via the St Gallen frontier patrol. He was convicted of fraud and received a prison sentence along with a hefty fine. With his loss of position in society he and his family lived the remainder of their days in poverty. His daughter who is 88 years old said that her father never felt sadness, "He knew he had a clear conscious and a good heart." Another celebrated person was a man by the name of Eduard Benedek Brunschweiler who was a businessman. He saved thousands of people and at least 30 Jewish children, by taking charge of the Benedictine Abbey in central Hungary and placing it under Red Cross protection. Finally, the last hero recognized in this article was Carl Lutz the Swiss Vic-Consul. He established "safe houses" in Budapest by declaring them annexes of the Swiss Legislation. The most famous building that was annexed was called the Glass House. This building housed more than 3,000 Jews. In 2005 this building was opened and used in the honouring of Mr. Lutz by being turned into a museum.
I chose this article because the Holocaust has always fascinated me. The thought of such cruelty is mind blowing and seemingly inconceivable. But, most amazing to me in the honour and bravery that arose out of such a devistating situation. In comparison to American society this article speaks of things that have yet to occur. As for this type of disrtruction occuring in American society, I hope this never will. Nor do I want this to happen in any country or society ever again.
This article (written by Andrew Littlejohn) can be found at: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/feature/Holocaust_remembered_in_stories_of_rescuers_html?cid=8175146

Match-Fixing Scandal 'Struck at the Heart of Soccer'

The heading of this article is, "The European match-fixing scandal is tragic for soccer fans whose faith in fair play risks being shattered, write German commentators. But corruption can affect any business, and the undercover police operation that exposed it is a positive sign, they add." This article discuses the corruption that was found to be lurking in the world of soccer. On Thursday fifty raids were made in Germany, Switzerland, Britain, and Austria. "Authorities arrested 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland seized over (1.5) million in cash and property." A similar conviction was made five years ago when a German referee decided to receive bribes. These scandals have only been found in the lower levels; luckily the first division has stayed away from such controversy.
I chose this article because the heading caught my attention when I was searching for sports articles. I have played pretty much every sport except soccer, so i don't know much about the sport and its rules. I was surprised to find that an extensive undercover operation was carried out to capture the perpatrators. The fact that this scandal spread across four countries was mind blowing. I have heard of steroid use and many other negative stories about basketball, football, golf, swimming, and baseball; never have I heard anything negative stories about soccer.
I found it interesting that, "The case centers on a Berlin-based betting shop, Cafe King, which featured in a similiar scandal five years ago that led to the conviction of German referee Robert Hoyzer." I have always envisioned this kind of thing happening in the movies but never in real life. I must be naive, but I assumed such scandal would not be so obvious to find. The referee found to have thrown the game was known to have previously done so in years earlier. I would think that the soccer association would be smart enough not to allow the referee to participate in games again.
This article by (David Crossland) can be read at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,662828,00.html

Topics that interest me.

This project requires me to become aware of the things going on in the world around me. I hope to broaden my horizon with this project, also to learn how to improve my daily life and outlook on things. Topics that interest me are sports, music, and dancing. I am interested in the sport aspect because I have played sports year around since I was six years old. Music interests me because I play the viola, and a lot of music I have learned to play originated from German composers.